The art and science of building construction is influenced by many factors including the need for comfort, shelter, insulation, aesthetic tastes, and durability. All of these factors, to some extent, are functions of the forces of nature including climate and weather patterns. One significant weather phenomenon that plays a determinative role in the effectiveness of a particular building structure is wind.
Strong winds may be found in a variety of climate zones including the harsh arctic regions where freezing winds blow, tropical regions where hurricanes (a.k.a., cyclones or monsoons), and any climatic zone that has the potential to spawn natures most concentrated storms, tornadoes. In short, strong winds have the potential to wreak havoc on building structures almost anywhere in the world.
A common problem with certain buildings in high wind zones occurs when air is forced under roof overhangs or other similar surfaces on a building, creating pressure along underside surfaces of such roof overhangs. If the pressure increases past a certain point, such pressure creates a lifting force to tear roofs and part or all of any associated joist system off of the building. Such events often trigger the complete collapse of such buildings. The relative ease at which such destructive events occur is often due to weak construction connections between the truss system of such buildings—particularly the roof trusses—and the foundations of such buildings.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved building structure capable of reinforcing the connection between a foundation of a building and the various joist members in the building.